I’m so excited to be part of the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild’s EZ Dresden Challenge blog tour today. This Challenge is in honor of Darlene Zimmerman’s 20th anniversary of creating tools and rulers for EZ Quilting. One of these classic tools is the Dresden ruler, used to cut wedge-shaped pieces typically to create a very traditional Dresden Plate block.
Here is my own traditional Dresden quilt created a couple of years ago. (And still un-quilted, I might add. I should really work on that…) There are lots of excellent Dresden tutorials that show how simple it is to create this very classic block. It has been fun as part of this challenge to see the variety of other ways to use this ruler and how versatile this tool really is!
This is the block that I came up with, using Darlene’s Dresden ruler. My pinwheel has a diameter of 16″, and here’s a brief tutorial for how I did it. (I suggest reading the whole tutorial through before you start cutting and creating.)
Fabric requirements for one block:
- ¼ yard striped fabric and ½ yard white fabric
Fabric requirements for 41″ x 60″ quilt above
- 3 different ¼ yards of striped fabrics
- 2 ¼ yards white fabric
- ¼ yard border fabric
- ⅜ yard binding
- 1 ¾ yard backing
The short-cut trick for this block is using a striped fabric. You could, of course, piece strips and cut them with the Dresden ruler as well, if you want a custom stripe. I used this stripe from Bonnie and Camille’s latest collection Vintage Modern. The stripe print comes in three color ways, red, pink, and gray. (You can find this fabric here, here, here or here.) A ¼ yard gave me exactly enough fabric for the colored wedges for 2 blocks. If you want a little leeway for mistakes, get ⅓ yard.
From your ¼ yard, cut 5 pieces of fabric that look like this: with a dark stripe at the top and at the bottom. My piece is 9″ wide and just over 7″ high. (Of course, you can use any striped fabric you like, just make sure there is a dark stripe at the top and the bottom to create this effect.)
I then cut my wedges 7″ long, so line-up the 7″ line at the top of the fabric and cut fabric into the wedge shape.
Turn the ruler upside down and cut a second wedge. Continue cutting wedges alternating the ruler’s direction.
You should be able to get 4 wedges across a 9″ wide piece of fabric. (As you can see, I trimmed off the ends at the bottom to make the wedge exactly 7″. Hindsight, I would have just left the bottom edge intact, so don’t feel like to you have to trim off that little piece.)
You will need 10 striped wedges and 10 white wedges per pinwheel block. Using a ¼ yard each of the red, pink, and gray stripes I was able to get 20 wedges from each – enough for two blocks of each color. From the white fabric I cut three 7″ x wof (width of fabric) strips and cut them into a total of 60 wedges – 10 for each of the six blocks.
Using one striped wedge and one white wedge sew them together in sets of two. Combine 8 of the sets into sets of 4 wedges. Combine 2 sets of 4 wedges with a set of 2 wedges to create a half circle, always keeping the striped wedge on the same side of the white wedge.
Repeat the process with remaining wedges to create a second half circle and sew the two half circles together to create a whole circle/pinwheel.
Ta-da!
From remaining white fabric cut 6 squares 20.5″. Fold into quarters and crease the sides. Unfold.
Using the four creases as your guide, line up your pinwheel lines with the creases. You should have 5 wedges per quadrant. Turn your raw edges under a ¼″ and carefully press and pin in place. You can then hand applique the wheel block to the backing fabric. I just used my machine to sew the edges down.
Once your wheels are sewn down, square up your blocks to 20″. Assemble the blocks together 2 across by 3 down. Cut your outside border fabric into (5) 1 ½″ strips and add to the outside edges. Quilt and bind as you desire.
Now is your turn to come up with a project using the EZ Dresden ruler and if you do so, you could enter to win some amazing prizes. September 1-6th you can go to the SLMQG site and enter your projects. All the details are found on the Salt Lake Modern Quilt Guild site.
For more inspiration, check out these other sites for ideas:
- June 1: Salt Lake MQG: Kick Off
- June 2: Lee from Freshly Pieced
- June 3: Kati at from the blue chair
- June 4: Victoria from Bumble Beans Inc, Tanya from Squares and Triangles
- June 5: Val from How About Pink Please, Leigh from Leedle Deedle Quilts
- June 6: Amy from Amy’s Creative Side, Elisa from Stitch Outside the Ditch
- June 7: Katie from Swim Bike Quilt, Emily from Em’s Scrapbag
- June 8: Melissa from Happy Quilting Melissa, Brooke from Pitter Putter Stitch
- June 9: Nicole from Mama Love Quilts, Amy from Don’t You Know Who I Am
- June 10: Elizabeth from Don’t Call Me Betsy, Colleen from The Busy Bean
- June 11: Faith from Fresh Lemons Quilts, Deonn from Quiltscapes Quilting
- June 12: Angela from The Artists’ House, Barbie from The Quilting Mill
- June 13: Amy from Diary of a Quilter
- June 14: Jessica from Sew Crafty Jess
- June 15: Salt Lake MQG: Wrap-up
Don’t have a Dresden ruler of your own? You can buy one at most local quilt shops, directly from Simplicity.com or from Amazon. I also have one to give away! If you want the chance to win one, leave a comment on this post. GIVEAWAY CLOSED.
If you are looking for more Dresden inspiration check out these rainbow Dresden wheels, my favorite Dresden quilt, and this Dresden circle pillow tutorial.
Liz
Very cool. I love how it turned out.
Anne
Fabulous!!! (Imagine me singing that for greater effect!)
Jacqueline
Love your use of the striped fabric.. it does a lot of the work in this quilt. Just a great looking quilt.<br /><br />And enter me please.. I would like to try this tool.
Jaime
The peppermint pinwheele is awesome. So creative! Thanks for the chance to win the tool.
randi--i have to say
I absolutely LOVE this quilt! So glad you made a tutorial for it. Thanks, Amy! 🙂
Johanna
Great idea with the striped fabric!
Cindy
LOVE this quilt!! What a great idea to use the striped fabric and the backing is perfect!:) I'm glad too you made a tutorial! Thanks for sharing!:)
Kiera Vanella
Love this! So original…definitely going to have to give it a try! Thanks for sharing!
Leah
Great tutorial. I love the movement in the quilt. Another great Dresden pattern!
A Seam to Sew
I really like your quilt! Very smart to use striped fabric.
VickiT
I love how you've used a striped fabric to create your block. What a great idea. I really love it. And your choice in backing fabric was just perfect. You need to get that quilted to show it off. I'm sure you would get a lot of compliments because it's beautiful.
missfitz63
What a clever way to use striped fabric! Your quilt is lovely! Thanks for the easy-to-follow tutorial.
fera-festiva
Absolutely gorgeous!
pforgerson
I love the colors you choose! and how it seems to fade away
Minnie
This is a great tutorial and I love the white and red striped fabric! Thanks for the links to the ruler, it may be time for me to get one 🙂 x
Jenny Wren
Just delightful!<br />2 of my loves combined – peppermint and quilting!
Leila
That stripe is PERFECT!!! Beautiful work!<br />I have loved seeing all of the fun projects made with the ruler.
Marion
That is so clever and FANTASTIC!!!! I see a table runner for Christmas in my future!
Jenny
This is so, so cute I can't stand it. That was clever of you to think of it!
Melissa
I could go for a peppermint right about now. Love the design.
Live a Colorful Life
This is a great quilt, Amy. Fun design!
Kathleen
I really like the way you used the colors for this quilt….thanks for the giveaway…
Terry@ iluvmybugs
What a fun quilt…love the striped fabric!
LC
I've been holding out on buying myself a Dresden ruler, in the unlikely event that I win one 🙂 I'm just about fit to burst seeing what everyone has done. Your peppermints are too sweet! I'm excited to try my hand at Dresdens. I was terrified of them for the longest, but now ican't wait to do some!
Books_Bound
I'll admit, the traditional Dresden doesn't really get me going, so all of these entries for the contest that have been cropping up all over blogland have been fun to look at, but haven't really beckoned me to consider them. But this…. this I like. I may have to take the plunge on this Dresden thing after all. Thanks for the alternative idea!
Angela Nash
Love your pinwheels! So tricky using that striped fabric 🙂
Kati
This is so cute Amy!! I love how your project turned out.
heatherL
Thanks for the tutorial! It makes this quilt seem so much less intimidating to me. :0)
heatherL
Thanks for the tutorial! It makes this quilt seem so much less intimidating to me. :0)
Gnomemade
I love the use of the striped fabric! It's such a great use of those stripes!
Annabanana
So cute ! I love your idea of using the striped fabric to save time…thank you for the ideas !
Martina
Great quilt! Thanks so much for sharing!
Spare Room Quilter
Thanks for the tutorial, I really want to make something for the Dresden Challenge now!
christinaree
So pretty!
Jeanne
Love this clever way of making a dresden.Thanks for the chance to win the ruler.
AlyceB
What a fabulous design! You've inspired a similar design that just popped into my head… Hmm, must try it out some time. Thanks!
Alisa
That's a really neat quilt! It's simple but has a great impact!
Kerri S
So pretty…love the combo of colours! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!!
Mary
I love your quilt. The stripes are so cute! Thanks for the great tutorial.
Myra
I love your peppermint pinwheel block! What a wonderful use of stripes! This is a great tutorial and very newby-friendly. Thanks!
Karen P.
what a fantastic way to use a dresden ruler! I love it!!
{ HeatherK @ AReformedHeath'n }
That looks awesome–I love all the different ideas people come up with. The alternating wedges would also make a cute flower patch. Hmmmm … Thanks!
Alexis
I really, really like this. It's so cute! Thanks for sharing.
Nedra
Oh, Amy, I love yours the best of all!
RaeLyn
love these peppermint twists Thanks for sharing!
Des
Okay, I'm sold. Brilliant.
jennipher
I have 2 old Dresden Quilts that I need to fix, maybe this tutorial & a ruler will help me in the process
Gill
Great tutorial – thanks! I love the peppermint pinwheel!
Chelsea
Wow, great use of that fabric!
Kmcassie
Love your design! Genius!
Julie
Oh Amy, I would love the Dresden quilt ruler. I have just started quilting and absolutely love it! I want to make all my Christmas presents this year. Your blog is very inspiring, Thank you for taking the time.
A.J. Dub. (Amy)
I LOVE this! This is such a fun hop! You all are so creative.
stitching under oaks
how fun..I like the stripey version a lot! So cute. I have been using your tutorials as I'm working on a quilt top. I wanted to thank you so much. When I post about it, I'll link to you as your tutorials have been invaluable! Love your blog!
Lisa Marie
Wow, another amazing project on this blog tour! I have been so inspired by the projects I've seen. I never had an interest in a Dresden ruler before this tour but now I feel like I need one! Thanks for the chance to win!
Quilted Squid
Omg this fancy…LOVE it!
RutegersWife
What a sweet quilt (pun intended)! Thanks for your very clear instructions.
Linda
SUCH A NEAT QUILT!<br />LOVE THIS RULER!<br />THANKS FOR SHARING A GREAT GIVEAWAY!<br /><br />msstitcher1214@yahoo.com
Katy Cameron
Ooh, very cool, love the effect of the white interspersing the stripes. Thanks for the chance to win :o)
audrey
oh i adore your peppermint pinwheel! how sweet is that? thanks for the giveaway!
Diann
Nice use of stripes on your quilt. I would think you could get a wide variety of effects depending on the stripe you use. Did you also just turn under 1/4 inch on the inner circle? That seems like it might be hard to do.
Jessica Jo
When I was going to art school one of my classes made us make an advertising campaign for ice cream. I chose to do a specific flavor: Jolly Peppermint Dango, which was a Christmas peppermint ice cream with a hint of cinnamon. I still want to make it. Why am I so lazy?
ritainalaska
nice idea, using big stripes fabric instead of making your own stripes. love the wheels! there's going to be a big run on big stripe fabrics at the quilt shops!
Jenelle
I love how the striped fabric really adds a whimsical touch to this. The colors are fantastic with the white and the backing is just perfect. Thanks for sharing!
Jenny
Love the use of the stripes! What a fun way to use the dresden plate ruler!
Angie
I love the stripes! This would make a great Christmas quilt!
Chrissy
What a fun way to use the stripes! 🙂
snickerplum
I adore that quilt! And it gave me tons of inspiration for my babies room! I thinking pinwheels! Love it! Thank you!!
Sallie
I love the stripes! Thanks for the giveaway!
Lara
Love this quilt Amy! You make it look so easy peasy 🙂 thanks for your tutorial. I would love to win one 😉 thanks for the chance!
Jordan
Oooh pretty circles… thanks for the opportunity!
Avondster
What a beautiful idea with the striped fabric.
Barb and Sharon
I really like the stripe fabrics. They look like they are older, vintage or faded from time and love. Thanks for sharing.<br />Barb@Witsend
Abigail Cashelle
So beautiful. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Tricia
That's a great idea! That ruler is on my want list…I'll need to push it up on the priorities list!
Marcia W.
The backing fabric looks great with your pinwheel Dresden block. Thanks for sharing your project, and the giveaway too.
Jennie P.
I love your peppermint quilt! So cute and would be a great Christmas quilt to give someone!
Tiara
I so love vintage modern!
annemarie
What a cool item! Thanks for the chance to win.
Jodi - usairdoll
What a fun quilt! So many great designs with this ruler. How inspiring!<br /><br />Thank you for a super giveaway and a chance to win.<br /><br />usairdoll(at)gmail(dot)com
Queen Mary
LOVE the peppermint idea and I love your excellent photos of the step by step!
sandy
Very clever to use striped fabric. Your photos and instructions are crystal clear.
Simply Sandy
Thank you so much for the tutorial, Amy. You are so clever to use striped fabric. Love this quilt.
Melanie
How clever! Love this quilt!
Vroomans' Quilts
What a cute way to use a dresdie! Thank you for sharing.
cherylj
I love love this quilt. I love the quilting too. I inherited some Dresden blocks and was wondering how to quilt them. Thanks for the inspiration.<br /><br />C_kaminsky at yahoo dot com
Lee
A sweet sweet dresden! thanks for the tutorial and giveaway.
hueisei
I'd love to win..thanks for the chance 🙂
sandyb
Love the dresden – I would love to try to win the ruler as I do not have one. Thank you for the tutorial!!!!! It is great!!!<br /><br />sandyb720 at gmail dot com
LeAnne
That would be so great for Christmas!
StacyOK
I absolutely LOVE this quilt! It makes me want to try a Dresden block and I've never wanted to before!
Jo
Wow, what fun! I would love to have this ruler and give your quilt a try! Thanks!<br />boppiesgirl@gmail.com
sandra
Hi Amy really love your quilt it is so modern and would look lovely in my living room. I sure hope that I win one of those dresden rulers as I can't find one up here in Canada at least close by.
KatieQ
Very cool. I love the way you used the striped fabrics.
Georgette
This is an awesome way to use those striped fabrics. Great time saver and so pretty. Thanks for such a great tutorial too.
JoyceLM
Your quilt is amazing – love the spinning dresdens. Thanks for the chance to win.
ivyworis
i like your dresdens quilt. would love to make one just like that. thanks.<br />ivyworis@yahoo.com
Fran
Your dresden quilt is amazing & such a clever way to create a new & unique block – even better that it's deceptively easy, with the use of striped fabric! Thanks for the inspiration & for the chance to win one of these great rulers.
Jeanne Gwin
What an amazing take on the dresden plate. thanks for sharing and the giveaway
tubilinha tiacarminha
Muito bonita sua colcha,diferente.Segui o tutorial e gostei.Obrigada por me ensinar e sorteio.tiacarminhapezzuto@gmail.com
Krista Hansen
Beautiful!! Using the stripe fabric was brilliant!
Lisa
I love your dresden. I just used some of that striped fabric and still have some left. Please put me in your giveaway and thank you for the inspiration and giveaway!
Donna F
I am seeing so many projects with this ruler. There are so many choices on how to use it I really want one. I have some ideas for this. I would love to enter my completed project in September too. Your quilt has inspired me. Thank you.
Amy
Such a cute quilt! Thanks!
bethanndodd
Those peppermint pinwheels make me happy 🙂 <br />Smiles~Beth
Deonn @ Quiltscapes
Sweet stripey peppermints, who knew you could do so much with this ruler! Thanks for the tutorial.
Lisa Langford
I don't know how you do it, but you keep coming up with the cutest quilt patterns. This is my new favorite. Awesome!
Goldogmom
I really like your pattern, it makes me think of windmills ;-)<br /><br />I would love to win the ruler as I do not have one and would like to try a modern design.<br /><br />Michelle
CathyK
What a wonderful tutorial and an adorable quilt! Thank you so much for sharing!
bruinbr
This is just adorable! Love the shortcut of using striped fabric too! Thanks so much!
charlotte
Oh, I love the peppermint pinwheels. What a great idea for a dresden. Very different.
Deidra
Oh, what a great tutorial.
materialgirlquilts
I absolutely LOVE your design! Thanks so much for a great tutorial and a chance to win.<br />Amanda
Sew Very Sherry
Wow! The way the stripes look like they are floating on the white background is stunning. Love the skinny border too!
james and bess
love those blocks! thanks for the chance to win!<br /><br />bess 🙂
Artsy-Craftsy Ivy
What a brilliant idea! I love it!
Mindy Fawn
I just love the fabric you picked for the back of the quilt! I took a gander through the rest of your blog and loved and enjoyed your work.<br />Thanks for sharing and being a part of the ruler contest!<br />Mindy
Jenn M
This quilting thing gets addicting. I will probably have projects until forever .. but this will definetly become one of them!!
Sara
OMG!!!!! 🙂 I want one too
jomaj
So glad you posted this – and so glad I read ALL the way through it, I would have been sewing strips of fabric together to make those stripes!!!!! LOVE love this quilt, it's definitely on the 'to do' list. Genius – THANK YOU.
Julie
Yet another fun design. I'm just loving this Dresden kick! I would love to win the ruler to make some of these things that keep showing up on my pin boards!
Mev_Lohman
I love your pinwheel design! I love that it could be Christmasy, but could still be used year round. The ruler is definitely something I could use; it looks so useful!
Claire Jain
This is so cute! I love, love, love these dresden blocks. Thanks so much for sharing this cute quilt! I can't wait to give it a try.
sassyteach
Love it-just starting to quilt and I love the shortcut of using the striped fabric!
Carolyn S.
wow, I'm loving the dresden blocks I've seen, count me in for a chance to win a ruler! Thanks.
GoodsonFL@aol.com
i would love the ruler!
Heidi
Such a cute quilt! I'd love to win the ruler.
ruralkansas
Love the Dresden quilt. I actually bought my first one 23 years ago at the first auction that my husband worked after auctioneers school.
Poppyprint
Very clever!! This is super fun.
WhereIsTheFire
I love this!! And the striped fabric makes it so much easier! What about the centers? Is there anyway we could get an upclose picture of the circle and how you finished those edges? Thanks!
Natalia from Piece N Quilt
You rock Amy! Seriously this is like the cutest thing EVER!
Beeaunka
I love this quilt! I especially love the backing fabric.
Tamie
You are so creative. So cute. I'm off to check out your blog. Thanks for participating in the tour.
zees5
I love this. It has so much movement. This would be great in a Christmas quilt!
Jill
I would love a ruler like that! So much more fun than squares all the time! Thanks! jillsstorey(at)yahoo(dot)com
Heather
How clever to use the striped fabric to create the blocks! I love how they look like they're floating on the quilt. Well done.
Karrie S
I love this quilt!! It's so awesome. Thanks for the chance to win. I am definitely going to make a quilt like this in the future and it's marked away in my TO-DO folder 😀 Thanks!
Rachell
How much fun! I love the little Starlight Mints candies, and your quilt reminds me of those! This would be a fun quilt for anyone to make.<br />Thanks for a chance to win! After all this blogging, I can tell this ruler would be great to have and use.
the girlfriend gap
This is adorable !thank you!
Cara
This is lovely! Love the colour combination.
Michelle
Love both of your quilts in this post! I love Dresden plate quilts
Lisa
The pinwheels are so stinkin' cute! What a great way to let the fabric help with the design.
Sally
Really cute, love the dots!
Snoodles
This is such a unique block – thank you for sharing! And thanks for the chance to win!
aiah23
I am a new quilter and this makes dresden quilting look far less intimidating, thanks for that! it'd be awesome to win a dresden wedge tool.
Amy at Ameroonie Designs
Beautiful quilt Amy! I just love it. :)<br />xoxo
L. Siyam
Beautiful! I just started to gather my first quilting tools, I hope to show some final work soon. In the mean time I will keep visiting and learning more from you. Thanks!
Nancy Sue
VERY cool tutorial!!! Thank you for sharing and for participating in the blog hop 🙂
Laura
Oh, so many ideas you've inspired here! Now if only I could find the motivation to go with the inspiration. Maybe the ruler would be just the ticket? Love the quilt!
The Quilting B
Love! My next to do quilt is a dresden. The ruler would be awesome.
notqnot
I would love a Dresden ruler!
Ann Lewis
You've done it again, Amy. Another Perfect Quilt! love your work.<br />Ann Lewis
Jennie
your quilt is so pretty and delicate – thank you for sharing!
Betty
I love the tute and I love the result.<br />I'd love to win too!
Carla G
What a cute quilt! Thanks for the tutorial! Thanks for a chance to win! 🙂
barefootT
love it 🙂
rbjaneite
Lovely! It reminds me of Milly-Molly-Mandy in her peppermint striped dress.
amandajean
ack!!! i love those sripey dresdens! you are a genius!!! i read 3 posts from you and now i have 3 new projects i want to try. the bummer is i'm trying to work on my WIP's, just like you. you are NOT making it easy for me! (but i love the inspiration all the same.) 😉
Karen Deskins
An inspiring quilt! Great job.
Jenny Wren
I love peppermint – fresh and inspiring – congratulations!